Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2: Top-notch sound but disappointing battery life

Ahead of the launch of Google’s new Pixel Buds Pro, Huawei has brought out the latest version of its premium buds, the FreeBuds Pro 2.

And these buds promise a lot. Huawei has teamed up with French audio experts Devialet again to deliver some top-notch audio, and improved its active noise cancelling.

Huawei has done some good work in this area in recent years, and the FreeBuds Pro 2 are no exception. The Pro 2 bring some good advances, supporting high-resolution audio and adaptive EQ.

The buds are available in three different colours – silver blue, silver frost (aka grey) and ceramic white. The buds we got were silver blue, which are a little different from the normal earbud fare, with a iridescent glow.

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In terms of design, the FreeBuds Pro 2 are broadly similar to what’s come before. Yes, there have been tweaks but the design of the new buds feels reassuringly familiar. The chunky stems are a little less chunky, but the earbuds are lightweight and easy to get to grips with.

You’ll need the AI Life app – available for both iOS and Android – to adjust some of the settings. From there, you can change the noise-cancellation settings, switch between modes designed for different environments and assign different gestures to controls such as skipping tracks, rejecting calls or switching between noise-cancelling modes. There are several of those modes by the way, but I found leaving it on dynamic and allowing the ear buds to switch to the most appropriate level worked well in neutralising the background noise for the most part.

The awareness mode was a little disappointing: I couldn’t quite hear the conversation around me in the same way that other earbuds allow on a similar mode.

One positive of the FreeBuds is that it is quite difficult to accidentally trigger those gestures when you are taking the buds out or adjusting them. On the other hand, I found it was sometimes a bit hit and miss whether the gesture I wanted to use actually worked. For the number of times I’d use gestures though, I’d prefer that scenario than constantly pausing or skipping tracks when trying to adjust the fit of the earbuds.

There are extra silicon tips in the box to ensure you get a good seal in your ears, helping to keep out the unwanted background noise even without the noise-cancelling modes activated. They don’t need to be pushed too far in to stay put either, so they don’t put too much pressure on your ears.

Huawei has a tip fit test too, which will tell you if you need to adjust the size of the silicon tips or simply just refit them. I don’t get overly hung up on this any more though as even taking the ear buds out and refitting them with the same tips can get a different result, and you’d have to run the test each time your put them in your ears to make sure the test flagged the fit as perfect.

Regardless, sound quality is top notch. I noticed details in certain songs that I hadn’t previously. It strikes the right note between rich sound without being overwhelming, and crisp and clear without being too sterile.

For the price you pay for these buds, the sound quality is amazing, before you even get to the high-resolution audio tracks. For that, you’ll need a device that supports high-resolution audio and the right content.

If there is one complaint, it would be that the battery life isn’t quite as good as I’d hoped for. Although you get four hours when you have active noise-cancelling mode enabled, it is less than the Oppo Enco X’s five hours of active noise cancelling, the AirPods Pro at 4½ hours and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, which also have a five-hour battery life with active noise-cancelling on. Turn it off and the battery is much more impressive, but I like to block out the background hum.

The good

The sound quality on these earbuds is excellent, especially considering the price. They’re comfortable to wear for hours too. The gesture controls are handy, if a little fiddly to use.

The not so good

Battery life is good, but doesn’t quite match up to the bar set by some of its rivals. It may not seem like much – four hours versus 4½ to five hours – but if you are travelling, that extra hour makes a difference. The case will boost that, and you’ll get more than a full day out of it if you are periodically popping them back for a boost.

The rest

The FreeBuds Pro 2 come with IP54 rating, which will keep them safe from a splash or two of rain or sweat.

The verdict

Great sound and a decent price make the FreeBuds Pro 2 a good choice if you are looking for a new set of noise-cancelling earbuds.